Deadly Greetings (Book 2 in the Cardmaking Mysteries) (31 page)

“
You look lovely as well,”
Lillian said. After casting a critical glance at my simple gray
dress, she added, “Though I do wish you’d let me treat you to a new
outfit sometime.” Lillian paused, then added enthusiastically,
“I’ve got a wonderful idea, Jennifer. Why don’t we go to Richmond
in the morning, shop all day, and then eat somewhere delightful
tomorrow night? I know the most charming place we could stay, and
we’d be back in time for lunch the next day. What do you say? I’d
be delighted to treat.” With several ex- husbands and a shrewd mind
for investing, Lillian could easily afford the gracious gesture.
She worked at my shop for materials and instruction in lieu of a
salary, and to my delight, my aunt had grown to love making cards
nearly as much as I did.

“
I’m tempted to take you up
on it sometime, but I you know I can’t afford to close the card
shop that long.”

She waved a hand in the air, dismissing my
protest. “Yes, I know how thoroughly wed you are to your business.
Speaking of marriage, I’m still not certain you should have invited
me to this banquet as your guest. Surely you could have found a
suitable young man to escort you.”

I wasn’t about to have that conversation
with her again. I hugged my aunt and said, “We both know that I
probably wouldn’t still be in business without your help. There’s
no way I could have asked anyone else tonight.”

She raised an eyebrow in consternation. My
aunt had perfected the look from a great deal of practice over the
years. “At least promise me you’ll find some time to chat with the
eligible young men there. Will Greg be attending?”

Greg Langston was my two-time former fiancé,
but never my husband. He ran a pottery shop a few doors down from
Custom Card Creations, and we were just starting to manage the
awkwardness inherent in our proximity. Lillian had a dream that
we’d make the third time a charm someday, and I was getting tired
of trying to rid her of her delusions. “I suspect so, but I really
don’t know. We quit coordinating our social calendars a long time
ago.”

There must have been something in my voice that
told her I was through talking about it. “Shall we go,
then?”

“
Just let me lock up and
I’ll be ready.”

As I secured the last dead bolt on the
shop’s front door, I heard my sister’s voice calling me from up the
street. “Jennifer, wait for me.”

Sara Lynn had been cut from the same cloth
as my lovely aunt; they were the only two petite people in our
family. She ran Forever Memories, a scrapbooking shop, but that had
inadvertently led me to custom card-making. I’d been her employee
there not so long ago, and when Sara Lynn had rejected my idea of a
cardmaking corner, I’d gone out on my own to prove there was a
market for handcrafted cards in our resort community. Our brother,
Bradford, was the sheriff for your Rebel Forge, though at times it
seemed his main duty was keeping our family together.

“
You look award-winning,” I
said, appreciating the effort my sister had gone to. Sara Lynn
normally eschewed makeup and fancy formal wear, but she was now
skillfully enhanced, from her brand-new hairdo coif all the way
down to her expensive pumps.

“
It’s nonsense, and we all
know it,” Sara Lynn said. It was rumored around town that Sara Lynn
was slated to receive the Rebel Forge Businessperson of the Year
award, something that she’d yet to receive in all her years as a
small businesswoman. The reason for the slight was obvious: there
was bad blood between my sister and Eliza Glade, the woman who ran
the chamber—along with her businesses—with a velvet fist. However,
it appeared that it was finally going to be Sara Lynn’s turn, and
she was long past due, in my opinion.

I looked behind her and asked, “Hey, where’s
Bailey?” Sara Lynn and her husband had been having marital troubles
for months, but I had expected him at least to show up for his
wife’s crowning triumph. The Bippy—as we affectionately called the
award— was the Oscar, the Emmy, and the Obie combined for the folks
who ran businesses in Rebel Forge, and I knew that, despite her
protests to the contrary, Sara Lynn had a place ready in the
display behind her checkout counter for the small golden anvil
award.

“
He’s not coming,” Sara Lynn
snapped. From the tone of her voice, it was pretty obvious she was
finished with that particular conversation.

Not that Lillian was going to accept the
dismissal. “When are you going to kick him to the curb like he
deserves?”

I was shocked by the harshness of my aunt’s
comment. “Lillian, that’s out of line, even for you.”

Our aunt was prepared to protest, when Sara
Lynn put a hand on my arm. “She’s right, Jennifer.” She took a deep
breath, let it out slowly, then said, “You’ll hear about this
sooner or later, so it might as well be from me. Bailey and I have
decided to split up.”

I couldn’t believe it. They’d been married
forever, and while I knew they’d had their share of problems, I
never imagined it would come to this. “Sara Lynn, it will all work
out. I just know you two are meant to be together.”

She touched my shoulder lightly. “Thank you,
Jennifer, but I don’t think so.”

Lillian nodded her obvious approval. “You
had every right to toss him out after what he did.”

“
What happened?” I asked.
“Is there something I don’t know about?”

Sara Lynn frowned. “If you haven’t heard the
rumors yet, you will tonight. Bailey and I are completely and
utterly finished. I could have probably forgiven him having an
affair—I know he’s just human—but I will never be able to get the
image out of my mind of him in Eliza Glade’s embrace.”

I was shocked by the admission, but Lillian
just nodded and said, “We’re both here for you. You know that,
don’t you?”

I finally managed to find my voice. “Are you
positive you want to go to the banquet tonight? Eliza’s to going to
be making the presentation.” I couldn’t imagine my sister onstage
with her worst enemy in the world. I turned to our aunt and asked,
“Lillian, does your offer of a shopping trip to Richmond still
stand? Let’s go right now. What do you say, Sara Lynn? We’ll have a
blast.”

“
That’s an excellent idea,”
Lillian said. “The three Shane women loose in the capital city.
Let’s do it.” Sara Lynn stood her ground, though. “I won’t let that
woman deprive me of this evening. I did nothing wrong, and I won’t
scuttle away to a corner and hide. Now, are you two coming or not?
There’s a banquet I’m determined to attend.”

Behind her back, Lillian looked
questioningly at me, and I nodded to signal my acceptance. If Sara
Lynn still wanted to go, then I would be right there beside
her.

“
Let’s go,” I said with as
much enthusiasm as I could muster.

As we walked to Hurley’s Pub, the three of
us chatted about the weather, the mutual states of our businesses,
and just about everything but Sara Lynn’s husband and his new
paramour. I thought of myself as a strong woman, but I couldn’t
touch my sister’s grit and determination. She was right, of course.
The best way to handle the gossip and the scandal in our small town
was to face it head-on. That had always been her approach to life,
and I’d constantly done my best to emulate her behavior, with
varying degrees of success over the years.

Hurley’s was closed to the public for the
night, and the second we walked in, I could see why. Jack Hurley
had opened up the dividers between the dining areas, making his
restaurant one big open space. There was a temporary stage set up
in front, with a pair of tables split by a podium. Several people
were mingling around the room, sharing drinks and quips. Was it my
imagination, or was there a momentary hush when everyone realized
that Sara Lynn was there? I looked over at my sister, her head held
proud and her gaze unflinching, and I couldn’t remember ever being
prouder of her than I was at that moment. In less than a second,
the crowd went back to their drinks and previous conversations, and
I squeezed Sara Lynn’s hand. “You are probably the bravest woman I
know.”

She shook her head briefly, and I could see
that she was trying her best not to show any emotion at all.
“Nonsense. I have every right to be here.” As she spoke, I saw
someone approaching us out of the corner of my eye. The relief I’d
felt in seeing someone join us dissipated in an instant when I
realized who it was.

Eliza Glade was heading our way, and it
wasn’t my imagination this time. The room was as quiet as a soft
kiss; everyone was holding their breath. Eliza wore a red dress
that showed just a little bit too much of her voluptuous figure for
a Chamber of Commerce dinner. Her blond hair had been teased and
sprayed, and her makeup was more than just a smidge overdone.
Truthfully, she looked as though she would have been more at home
in a Las Vegas lounge than in Rebel Forge.

Before Eliza could reach my sister, Lillian
disengaged from us and headed straight for the woman, effectively
cutting her off from us. They shared a few whispered comments, then
Lillian said something that rocked Eliza in her tracks. Her face
reddened as if she’d been slapped, and I saw her back quickly
away.

When Lillian rejoined us, there was a look
of smug satisfaction on her face.

Sara Lynn said, “I don’t need you to fight
my battles for me. I’m perfectly capable of handling that woman
myself.”

Lillian just laughed. “What, and let you
have all the fun? That’s hardly fair.”

“
What did you say to her?” I
asked. “You must have really spanked her hard.”

“
Me?” Lillian asked, her
tone as innocent as she could summon. “I don’t know what you’re
talking about.”

Sara Lynn said, “Let’s find our table, shall
we? I don’t relish having this crowd stare at me just standing
here.”

Lillian took her arm. “That’s a capital
idea. Let’s see where the shrew has seated us.”

We found our table, nearly concealed in a
niche in back behind one of the few posts blocking the view of the
stage. I was about to complain when I noticed that our tablemates
were already there. It appeared that Sara Lynn, Lillian and I
weren’t the only Rebel Forge residents on Eliza’s defecation
roster. Savannah and Pete Jones, owners of The Lunch Box—a place
where Lillian and I often ate—were already there.

“
Hi, all,” I said. “Where’s
Charlie?”

Charlie was their teenaged daughter and
part-time waitress.

Savannah said, “She’s off with some boy, if
you can imagine that. I told that girl she has to stay focused if
she wants to be a doctor, but does she listen to me?”

Pete, usually a man of few words, surprised
us all by saying, “Savannah, the girl’s got a right to a life of
her own.”

“
I’m not trying to tell her
what to do,” Savannah said sharply, then noticed Lillian’s grin.
“What are you smiling about?”

The two of them had been friends from the
cradle, and they weren’t afraid to speak plainly to each other.
Lillian said, “Your husband doesn’t say much, but when he does
talk, it might be a good idea to listen to him.”

Savannah’s features clouded up, but
Lillian’s smile never changed. After a long seven seconds, Savannah
reluctantly laughed, and the rest of us joined in. “You might just
have a point,” she added, then looked at her husband. “Don’t think
you won this argument?” she said.

“
No, ma’am,” Pete said, the
smile still broad on his face.

Savannah said, “Now how in the world are
they going to ever serve us if you three don’t sit down? I don’t
get to eat out much, and I’m eager to try some of Jack Hurley’s
fare.”

We sat with them at the table, and I looked
down at the place settings. Besides the knife, spoon and two forks,
there was a pewter letter opener with an anvil at the end of the
handle.

“
How lovely,” I said as I
picked mine up and felt the solid heft of it.

Savannah smiled. “I’ll say this for the
award committee, they always have nice souvenirs. Sara Lynn, is
that your husband over there trying to get your attention?”

We all turned to see Bailey waving
frantically at my sister.

Lillian started to get up, but Sara Lynn
beat her to it. “You sit tight. I’ll take care of him. This is one
battle I’ll fight myself.”

She left the table and headed directly for
her husband. The last thing I wanted to hear was a shouting match
between the two of them, but then I saw Sara Lynn drag him into the
kitchen and out of earshot.

Savannah said softly, “There’s trouble
there.”

“
More than you know,”
Lillian confirmed. She looked around the room, then said, “There’s
a good turnout tonight, isn’t there?”

Savannah nodded. “I think half of them are
here to see that niece of yours onstage with Eliza.”

“
Don’t say that in front of
Sara Lynn,” Lillian said.

“
I’m not about to,” Savannah
said. She looked at Lillian, then said, “I hate to admit it, but
you clean up pretty good.”

Lillian laughed. “I was just about to say
the same thing about you.” She turned to Pete and said, “You look
rather handsome yourself.”

“
Thank you, ma’am,” Pete
said. “I think you look nice, too.”

Lillian clapped her hands. “Why you sly old
dog, you. Pete Jones, are you turning into a talker on us?”

Pete shook his head, but I could see that he
was smiling, caught up in the excitement of getting out of his
kitchen, if only for one evening.

They were just starting to serve when Sara
Lynn rejoined us, without her husband in tow.